WEATHER
OPERATIONS
Air Force Doctrine Document 3-59
3 May 2006
Incorporating Change 1, 28 July 2011
This document complements related discussion found in Joint Publication 3-59,
Meteorological and Oceanographic Operations.
BY ORDER OF THE
SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE
AIR FORCE DOCTRINE DOCUMENT 3-59
3 MAY 2006
INCORPORATING CHANGE 1, 28 JULY 2011
SUMMARY OF CHANGES
This Interim change to Air Force Doctrine Document (AFDD) 2-9.1 changes the
cover to AFDD 3-59, Weather Operations to reflect revised AFI 10-1301, Air Force
Doctrine (9 August 2010). AFDD numbering has changed to correspond with the joint
doctrine publication numbering architecture.
AFDD titles and content remain
unchanged until updated in the next full revision. A margin bar indicates newly revised
material.
OPR: LeMay Center/DD
Certified by: LeMay Center/DD (Col Todd C. Westhauser)
Pages: 42
Accessibility: Available on the e-publishing website at www.e-publishing.af.mil for
downloading
Releasability: There are no releasability restrictions on this publication
Approved by: LeMay Center/CC, Maj Gen Thomas K. Andersen, USAF
Commander, LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and Education
FOREWORD
The Department of Defense operates in a challenging natural environment
stretching from the surface of the earth into the far reaches of space. While the
environment has beleaguered military operations for centuries, it has also provided
strategic, operational, and tactical advantage to the forewarned. Sun Tzu once
proclaimed, “Know the ground, know the weather; your victory will be total.” Indeed,
history has shown that commanders who have exploited knowledge of the environment
and its effects have been rewarded with victory, while those who have ignored the
environment have often met with failure.
Air Force weather operations are now more sophisticated, accurate, and precise
than ever, presenting air, space, and surface forces with an even greater opportunity to
exploit knowledge of the natural environment as a force multiplier. This can only be
accomplished, however, when commanders integrate environmental information and its
effects on operations into all aspects of planning, execution, assessment and
sustainment. It is an essential element on the road to victory.
JAMES F. JACKSON
Brigadier General, USAF
Commander
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................iv
FOUNDATIONAL DOCTRINE STATEMENTS................................................................vi
CHAPTER ONE—Overview Of Weather Operations ...................................................... 1
General........................................................................................................................ 1
Principles of Weather Operations ................................................................................ 4
Accuracy .................................................................................................................. 4
Relevancy ................................................................................................................ 4
Timeliness ................................................................................................................ 5
Consistency.............................................................................................................. 6
CHAPTER TWO—The Weather Operations Process ..................................................... 8
General........................................................................................................................ 8
Collect.......................................................................................................................... 9
Analyze...................................................................................................................... 11
Predict ....................................................................................................................... 11
Tailor.......................................................................................................................... 12
Integrate .................................................................................................................... 12
CHAPTER THREE—Organizing, Commanding, And Employing Weather Forces........ 14
General...................................................................................................................... 14
Organizing And Commanding Weather Forces ......................................................... 15
Employing Weather Forces ....................................................................................... 16
Air Force Component Level ................................................................................... 18
Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force ............................................................... 19
Air and Space Operations Center Weather Operations ......................................... 20
Joint and Multinational Operations ......................................................................... 21
Special Operations Forces ..................................................................................... 22
Conventional US Army Operations ........................................................................ 23
Fixed US Air Force Weather Operations ................................................................... 24
CHAPTER FOUR— Training And Education ................................................................ 27
Non-weather Personnel ......................................................................................... 27
Weather Personnel ................................................................................................ 28
Suggested Readings ..................................................................................................... 30
Glossary ........................................................................................................................ 32
iii
INTRODUCTION
PURPOSE
This Air Force doctrine document (AFDD) establishes doctrinal guidance for
organizing weather forces and employing weather operations capabilities in support of
air, space, and surface forces at the operational level of conflict. It is a critical element
of Air Force operational-level doctrine and as such should form the basis from which Air
Force and Army commanders integrate weather capabilities into their operations. Air
Force tactics, techniques, and procedures should complement this doctrine at the
tactical level.
APPLICATION
This AFDD applies to the Total Force: all Air Force military and civilian personnel,
including regular, Air Force Reserve Command, and Air National Guard units and
members.
Unless specifically stated otherwise, Air Force doctrine applies to the full range of
military operations, as appropriate, from stability, security, transition, and reconstruction
operations to major combat operations.
The doctrine in this document is authoritative, but not directive. Therefore,
commanders need to consider the contents of this AFDD and the particular situation
when accomplishing their missions. Airmen should read it, discuss it, and practice it.
SCOPE
This doctrine for Air Force weather operations provides a firm foundation for
integrating weather capabilities into the planning, execution, assessment, and
sustainment of Air Force and Army air, space, and surface operations. A common
doctrine helps ensure weather organizations at all echelons provide commanders and
forces with timely, accurate, and relevant environmental information and that
commanders and their forces exploit this information smartly. Since weather operations
complement intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations in the
development of battlespace awareness, this document has been made a subordinate
publication of AFDD 2-9, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Operations.
iv
COMAFFOR / JFACC / CFACC
A note on terminology
One of the cornerstones of Air Force doctrine is that “the US Air Force
prefers - and in fact, plans and trains - to employ through a commander, Air
Force forces (COMAFFOR), who is also dual-hatted as a joint force air and
space component commander (JFACC).” (AFDD 1)
To simplify the use of nomenclature, Air Force doctrine documents will
assume the COMAFFOR is dual-hatted as the JFACC unless specifically stated
otherwise. The term “COMAFFOR” refers to the Air Force Service component
commander while the term ”JFACC” refers to the joint component-level
operational commander.
While both joint and Air Force doctrine state that one individual will
normally be dual-hatted as COMAFFOR and JFACC, the two responsibilities are
different, and should be executed through different staffs.
Normally, the COMAFFOR function executes operational control/
administrative control of assigned and attached Air Force forces through a
Service A-staff while the JFACC function executes tactical control of joint air and
space component forces through an air and space operations center (AOC).
When multinational operations are involved, the JFACC becomes a
combined force air and space component commander (CFACC). Likewise, the
air and space operations center, though commonly referred to as an AOC, in
joint or combined operations is correctly known as a JAOC or CAOC.
v
FOUNDATIONAL DOCTRINE STATEMENTS
Foundational doctrine statements are the basic principles and beliefs upon which
Air Force doctrine documents (AFDDs) are built. Other information in the AFDD
expands on or supports these statements.
› Air Force weather operations are critical to a commander’s battlespace awareness
across the range of military operations. (Page 1)
› Air Force weather operations predict when the natural environment will affect friendly
and enemy air, space, and surface operations—a key ingredient of predictive
battlespace awareness—possibly offering friendly force commanders an exploitable
asymmetrical advantage. (Page 1)
› Air Force and joint weather operations should provide combat forces at all echelons
with consistent information, resulting in “one operation, one forecast.” (Page 6)
› Air Force weather forces execute five core processes—collection, analysis,
prediction, tailoring, and integration—to characterize the environment and exploit
environmental information. (Page 8)
› Prior to military operations, Air Force and joint/coalition weather forces should
develop a strategy to maximize the effectiveness of environmental data collection
efforts in theater to satisfy strategic, operational, and tactical requirements. (Page
10)
› Air Force weather operations with global, regional, and local scopes provide direct
support to strategic, operational, and tactical decision-makers through a combination
of reachback and distributed operations (e.g., on-site). (Page 16)
› Reachback and distributed operations provide the ability to reliably access
environmental information and resources while minimizing the theater footprint.
(Page 19)
› Air Force weather capabilities should be integrated with those of other Services and
nations to provide coherent and structured weather operations to joint and
multinational forces. (Page 21)
› Air Force weather operations employ Airmen educated in the sciences of
meteorology and space physics, trained to couple this science with the art of military
operations, and capable of operating in permissive, uncertain, and hostile
environments. (Page 27)
vi
CHAPTER ONE
OVERVIEW OF WEATHER OPERATIONS
In military operations, weather is the first step in planning
and the final determining factor in the execution of any
mission.
—General Carl “Tooey” Spaatz
First Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CSAF)
GENERAL
Air Force weather operations are an operational function of air and space power
(Air Force Doctrine Document [AFDD] 1, Air Force Basic Doctrine). They provide direct
support to conventional and special operations forces (SOF) of the Air Force and, by an
inter-Service support agreement based on the National Security Act of 1947, the US
Army. When designated, Air Force weather forces also provide direct support to joint,
coalition, and other agency operations.
Air Force weather operations are critical to a commander’s battlespace
awareness across the range of military operations. Few military endeavors,
including those of our adversaries, are immune to the effects of the environment.
Neglected or ignored, the weather and its effects can doom even the most carefully
planned and executed campaigns and operations. Properly applied, Air Force weather
operations can provide our air, space, and surface forces with a significant, even
decisive, advantage over our enemies.
Air Force weather operations predict when the natural environment will
affect friendly and enemy air, space, and surface operations—a key ingredient of
predictive battlespace awareness (PBA)—possibly offering friendly force
commanders an exploitable asymmetrical advantage. Air Force weather operators
are globally vigilant, persistently monitoring, assessing, and reporting the state of the
natural environment. To be relevant to decision-makers, Air Force weather forces
should know the past, current and future state of the atmosphere and space
environment and then translate that into impacts on operations. In essence, weather
operations provide two distinct yet related basic functions: 1) describing past, current,
and future environmental conditions, and 2) enabling the exploitation of environmental
information at key decision points.
Battlefield commanders need past, current and future weather information, a
truth inherent in war since ancient times. As such, the second basic function of weather
operations most directly impacts military operations. In this aspect, weather forces
1
enable the exploitation of actionable environmental information at key decision points
during all phases of military operations. Furthermore, weather information is ideal if
linked with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) information to enable
battlespace awareness from the strategic to tactical levels of warfare. Commanders at
all levels should use environmental information to optimize Air Force and Army
capabilities as force providers to the joint force and functional component commanders.
The Range of Air Force Weather Operations
Traditionally, the term ‘weather’ has referred to the state of the atmosphere
(with respect to temperature, precipitation, sky condition, visibility, etc.). From the
earliest days of aviation, a great deal of effort has been focused on developing “all
weather” aircraft and weapons. However, as technological advances have allowed
us to overcome the constraints of basic sensible weather effects, this same
technology has fallen prey to the effects of other, often invisible environmental
impacts. For example, precision navigation using GPS technology can still be
adversely affected by solar flares and electromagnetic disturbances undetectable by
human senses.
Weather, or the broader term “environmental information,”
increasingly encompasses a full spectrum of visible, sensible, and electromagnetic
natural phenomena and conditions affecting operations in and through the terrestrial
and space environments.
—Various Sources
Weather effects should be integral to the planning, execution, and sustainment of
any operation. Commanders should consider and account for weather and space
environmental effects on operations during development and design of deliberate and
contingency plans, consistent with the joint force commander’s (JFC’s) strategy and
objectives. Operationally relevant climatology based on clearly defined environmental
effects criteria greatly assists in:
› Preparing strategies and courses of action (COAs).
› Identifying opportunities to exploit environmental conditions for military advantage.
› Assessing feasibility of certain types of air, space, and surface missions.
› Anticipating effectiveness of platforms/weapons systems and munitions.
› Determining optimal seasons, times, and locations for conducting operations.
› Evaluating logistical, survivability (health/safety), and quality-of-life requirements.
2
Air Force weather operations are also a key element of non-combat military
activities such as stability operations and relief efforts. Virtually all forces that conduct
or support these types of operations are influenced by the weather. Weather and space
environmental effects on operations should therefore be considered in every facet of
planning, deployment, employment, and redeployment.
Commanders and planners should consider
the implications of executing air, space, and
surface operations during particular seasons to
maximize effectiveness and ensure success. In
Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, commanders
preferred to conduct operations in mountainous
Afghanistan before the onset of the typically harsh
winter, an environment more advantageous to
the home-based adversary.
Conversely, during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, they opted to initiate
combat in Iraq prior to the 100-plus degree summer that would have drastically
reduced the capabilities of US forces wearing mission-oriented protective posture
gear. Commanders should integrate environmental factors early in the planning
process to ensure all effects on operations are considered.
—Various Sources
To optimize employment of friendly force capabilities, Air Force weather forces
support research, development, acquisition, and testing of Air Force and Army weapons
and weapons systems, identifying and documenting environmental sensitivities.
System designers can then attempt to mitigate these sensitivities through appropriate
system modifications; Air Force weather forces can forecast impacts based on these
sensitivities, allowing commanders to mitigate the effects through modifications to the
mission profile. To highlight opportunities to exploit asymmetric environmental effects
on enemy capabilities, weather forces work with the intelligence community to identify
and document the weather sensitivities of threat forces and systems. Weather and
space environmental information should also be integrated into simulations, exercises,
and war games in order to capture the environmental effects on operations, training,
and acquisition. Properly portraying weather in modeling and simulation (M&S)
activities addresses the Secretary of Defense's mandate to “train as we fight." The
requirement for the Air Force’s emerging distributed mission operations program to
provide immersive mission rehearsal environments is better satisfied with realistically
modeled weather. Furthermore, including weather in M&S ensures weather effects on
operations are accounted for in planning scenarios, results of virtual weapons tests are
more representative, and strategy and tactics learned in war games are more realistic.
3
PRINCIPLES OF WEATHER OPERATIONS
Air Force weather operations are fruitless if environmental information is not
properly exploited by friendly force commanders. Exploitation can only occur when
planners and decision-makers understand weather and space effects on operations and
use this knowledge in a timely manner. For instance, aircrews can exploit cloud cover
and precipitation to conceal friendly movement from enemy aircraft or ground
observation. Properly integrated into the decision-making process, air and space
weather forecasts can be used to enhance friendly offensive and defensive operations
and, at the same time, identify those occasions when the enemy cannot exploit the
natural environment for sanctuary.
Air Force weather forces are driven by four timeless principles: accuracy,
relevancy, timeliness, and consistency.
Accuracy
Air Force weather operations must provide accurate environmental information to
decision-makers, a continual challenge for scientists and weather operators. Limited
measurement coverage and shortfalls in forecast technology reduce accuracy, but
weather forces strive to overcome these impediments.
The warfighter actively contributes to accuracy by relaying the latest missionarea environmental conditions to weather forces. Observations from manual and
automated pilot reports (PIREPS) and observations from the first wave of aircraft
launched prior to the main force package, for example, allow weather personnel to
improve the accuracy of weather effects on follow-on missions. Post-strike in-flight
reports should include target area and other relevant weather information.
Relevancy
Environmental information must be relevant to air, space, and surface
operations. Air Force weather forces should ensure commanders receive information
on weather parameters that have the potential to degrade or enhance any mission.
Commanders, in turn, should assess the expected performance of their assets in light of
weather and space impacts to determine the proper combination of delivery systems,
munitions, platforms, and other resources to attain desired effects.
Air Force weather operations are most relevant when integrated into the
operational planning process. Environmental information should directly apply to
planning, conducting, assessing, and sustaining operations. Air Force weather
operations focus on the joint force and component commanders’ operational
requirements, known or planned courses of action, specific planned and executable
missions, and commander’s objectives. Joint operations can be more successful when
commanders are given an opportunity to plan for operationally relevant weather
conditions.
4
Linebacker I, 1972
North Vietnamese forces conducted an
unexpected offensive into South Vietnam in early
1972 despite Seventh Air Force bombing
operations in the invasion zone. Meticulously
exploiting low cloud ceilings and visibility during
the transition between monsoons, the North
Vietnamese were able to move an entire division
of 160 tanks across the DMZ without much
detection or resistance from the air.
Only one out of the first twelve days of the invasion provided sufficient
weather for American aircraft to effectively attack division targets. Seventh Air
Force leadership soon learned the value of integrating operationally relevant
weather information into their decision cycles. Forecast weather conditions
across the theater became a vital consideration in planning Linebacker I
missions. Target selections for the next 24 hours were made based on weather
forecasts. Weapons systems were configured and munitions chosen based on
performance in specific types of weather. Frag orders for the next 3-4 days
were built using long-range weather forecasts.
—John F. Fuller,
Thor’s Legions: Weather Support to the
U.S. Air Force and Army, 1937-1987
Air Force weather forces should cultivate a two-way flow of information in which
operators provide relevant mission data that can be used to enhance the relevancy of
environmental information to operations. Weather personnel should understand the
strengths, limitations, and time factors associated with specific air and space systems
and land missions and fine-tune environmental data accordingly based on the specific
situation. For instance, weather that could negatively affect air refueling operations,
such as excessive turbulence and cloud cover in the 18,000 to 24,000-foot flight level
range, will not be relevant to Army helicopters operating below 500 feet. Without a
detailed understanding of operations and mission profiles, environmental information
runs the risk of being irrelevant.
Timeliness
Environmental information should be provided in time to influence the decisionmaking process and to plan and execute operations. Environmental information should
be the latest available, and it should be quickly disseminated and integrated at the
appropriate time into operations. Weather personnel should also be vigilant and
responsive, informing commanders of potential environmental effects on proposed air,
5
space, and surface operations in a timely manner. Air Force weather operations,
therefore, rely heavily on assured communications to realize the principle of timeliness.
THE 3RD SCOUTING FORCE, USAAF, 8TH AIR FORCE
Originally constituted as the 3rd Air Division Scouting Force in August 1944,
this force consisted of eight volunteer pilots with command or lead pilot experience
and at least one tour of operations on B-17 or B-24 bombers. All pilots received
weather observation training and a 20-hour conversion course on the P-51
Mustang before posting to Station 159 at Wormingford, England.
Their primary task in September 1944 was to fly P-51 fighters to scout target
visibility ahead of the 3rd Air Division bombers. With their designated task of
reporting meteorological conditions, it was a logical step to expand this capability
by using the services of a professional meteorologist. In January 1945, 1st Lt.
Ivan D. Carlton (meteorologist) was tasked with reorganizing and expanding the
operational role of the unit. In addition to the P-51 target scouts, eight B-17s arrived
on the scene, stripped of most of their defensive armament for increased cruising
speed. The B-17s were crewed by a pilot, co-pilot, navigator, engineer, radio
operator, tail gunner and a meteorologist. The B-17s scouted the weather
throughout the European Theatre of Operations.
The unit inherited the table of organization from the 862nd Bomb Squadron
on 1 February 1945 and became the 3rd Scouting and Weather Force. By the
war’s end they had flown 132 missions, completing 1,300 individual sorties.
—Various Sources
A significant aspect of timeliness is how environmental information is
disseminated to the warfighter. Machine-to-machine dissemination improves the
chances that critical weather information and its impact on operations will reach
decision-makers in time to capitalize on time-sensitive opportunities and other
operations. For instance, real-time information to the cockpit (such as images of targets
as affected by the weather and accounting for sensor wavelengths) enhances
situational awareness for newly received time-sensitive targets. Similarly, space
situational awareness (SSA) requires timely integration of accurate and relevant
environmental data into military space operations. Being able to distinguish between
enemy jammers and natural sources of interference on our space systems enables the
commander of joint space operations (JSO) to identify threat trends to better protect our
space center of gravity.
Consistency
Air Force and joint weather operations should provide combat forces at all
echelons with consistent information regarding the state of the natural
environment, resulting in “one operation, one forecast.” Weather forces produce,
6
access, and incorporate the same basic set of data in developing assessments of
weather effects to operations, ensuring similar results.
Natural environmental
information provided to commanders across the levels of conflict should therefore be
spatially and temporally consistent across the theater, operation, and/or battlespace, as
appropriate.
7
CHAPTER TWO
THE WEATHER OPERATIONS PROCESS
Weather, of course, remains the final factor in the decision where each day or
night’s activities shall be employed, and that puts a very great responsibility in the
hands of the officers who actually handle these great, enormous masses of aircraft.
—Winston S. Churchill
GENERAL
Air Force weather operations execute five core processes—collection,
analysis, prediction, tailoring, and integration—to characterize the environment
and exploit environmental information. These processes should be routinely
evaluated to ensure environmental information is timely, accurate, relevant, and
Environmental
Environmental
Information
Information
Exploitation
Exploitation
Environmental
Environmental
Characterization
Characterization
Scope
Decisions
Global
Strategic
lor
Tai
DoD
Sources
Collect
Predict
Net-Centric
Data
Repository
Non-DoD
Sources
Tailor
Consistent
Local
Timely
Operational
Tailo
r
Ta
ilo
Accurate
Integrate
Regional
r
Tactical
Relevant
Figure 2.1 Conceptual Model of Air Force Weather Operations
8
Mitigate & Exploit
Tailor
Analyze
consistent. Effective evaluation quantifies the quality of the weather data and
environmental impact information provided, which is critical to decision-makers’
confidence. It also detects deficiencies and helps focus corrective actions where
needed most.
COLLECT
The weather operations process depends on the collection
of high-quality data that sets the foundation for enhancing
operational missions. Collection is the essential component of
worldwide and regional databases from which weather products
are derived.
The Weather
Operations
Process:
Collect
Analyze
Predict
Tailor
Integrate
Air Force weather forces collect terrestrial and space
environmental information from across the globe. These data
include weather and space observations, meteorological satellite
(METSAT) data, and weather radar imagery from worldwide
military, civilian, and commercial sources. Since each collection capability has
limitations, Air Force weather operations seek an optimal blend of measurements from
ground-, sea-, air-, and space-based sensors. Although the Department of Defense
(DOD) owns some of these sensors, such as those flown on the Defense
Meteorological Satellite Program constellation, most international data are gathered via
data-sharing agreements between the US and other countries. While foreign data
greatly improve the coverage of measurements across the globe, the DOD retains an
assured global weather collection capability. A continual collection of weather and
space data contributes to accuracy of products.
The Critical View from Space
Commercial and military METSAT imagery,
from both geostationary and polar orbiting platforms,
is the centerpiece of environmental data collection.
Defense Meteorological Satellite Program platforms,
for instance, provide secure high-resolution imagery
that is used to identify mission-limiting weather.
Effective downlink and data-sharing solutions
improve weather operations by ensuring imagery
and data are delivered with minimal delay to widely
dispersed users.
—Various Sources
Insufficient sources or availability of environmental data may exist in regions
where air, space, and surface operations occur. Air Force weather forces therefore
maintain a capability to deploy in-theater, in close coordination with joint and coalition
weather forces, to establish an environmental data collection network in support of the
9
full range of air, space, and surface operations. In addition, non-traditional weather data
sources—such as ISR platforms and sensors and unmanned aerial vehicles—
significantly enhance the quality and quantity of theater environmental data collection,
especially in data-sparse areas. Commanders should emphasize these non-traditional
weather collection efforts throughout an operation and ensure Air Force weather forces
receive these data in a timely manner. Such data may provide the only, or possibly the
critical, piece of environmental information pivotal to mission success. Complete and
accurate weather observations are a vital aid in the development of a meteorological
history and trends for new operational areas.
PIREPS hit the mark in Cambodia, 1974-75
US Air Force C-130 aircrews conducting aerial
resupply missions over Cambodia in late 1973 found
that just 70-85 percent of vital ammunition and food
bundles landed in their intended drop zones. Those
that went awry often ended up in communist Khmer
Rouge hands. Since the aircraft were dropping from
over 13,000 feet to minimize enemy air defense threats,
upper-level winds in and near the drop zones
were often the culprit. Weather operations personnel had difficulty producing accurate
forecasts of winds between drop altitude and the surface due to a shortage of upper air
weather observations from within Cambodia. A renewed call for PIREPS from C-130
aircrews reaped lasting dividends. Forecasters collected valuable information on wind
speed and direction over the region from the crews and rapidly incorporated this (otherwise
unobtainable) data into weather briefings for upcoming missions. By late 1974 the
improved wind forecasts enabled nearly 99 per cent of all bundles dropped in country to
land in their targeted areas, where needy Cambodians defending their homeland were able
to recover them. In particular, 196 additional bundles worth over $1.1million arrived at
Kompong Selia between August 1974 and January 1975.
—John F. Fuller, Weather and War
Prior to military operations, Air Force and joint/coalition weather forces
should develop a strategy to maximize the effectiveness of environmental data
collection efforts in theater to satisfy strategic, operational, and tactical
requirements. This is critically important to achieving weather information dominance
in the battlespace. The collection strategy should identify all sources of weather and
space observations for integration into theater and global databases. It should also
leverage weather sensor packages deployed on manned and unmanned platforms,
weather sensors deployed across the battlespace, and robust communication
architectures (to reduce delay of environmental information transmission). The
environmental collection plan to exploit non-traditional sensors/platforms should be
integrated into the overall ISR theater sensing strategy to enhance battlespace
awareness.
10
Meteorologists regarded the airplane as
yet another capability for observing the weather.
Special aircraft were initially sent out to record
visibility information from above. By the late
1920s instruments for measuring pressure,
aircraft temperature, and humidity were attached
to the external surfaces of aircraft such as the
DeHavilland DH-4.
The development of specialized meteorological equipment in the mid1930s brought an end to the days of the aircraft as an intentional means for
obtaining upper-air weather observations during peacetime.
—John F. Fuller
Thor’s Legions: Weather Support to the
U.S. Air Force and Army, 1937-1987
ANALYZE
Analysis entails building a coherent,
integrated depiction of the past and current state
of the natural environment over a specified
region. An effective analysis of collected weather
data helps ensure the accuracy of forecast
information provided to commanders. It enables
identification of environmental features and
conditions—important to air, space, and surface
operations—requiring subsequent study and
monitoring. Further analysis determines strength,
movement, and timing of these features and their
mission-impacting
elements
(such
as
temperature, cloud cover, and ionospheric
scintillation) based on critical weather threshold
sensitivities. These analyzed data are processed
and assimilated into environmental databases to
provide battlespace awareness and inputs for
decision-making and predictions.
Analysis determines strength,
movement, and timing of
environmental features and their
mission-impacting elements
PREDICT
Air Force weather operations use collected and analyzed data to predict future
environmental conditions and their impacts on operations. Forecasts are only as sound
as their initial inputs. Accurate forecasts therefore depend upon robust collection and
meticulous analysis of environmental data.
Forecasting is a synergistic process between man and machine. Highly trained,
experienced weather personnel refine computer model output to produce detailed
11
forecasts, which include temporal and spatial assessments of terrestrial and space
weather features and associated environmental elements. For this process to
continually improve, it is important that feedback from actual conditions be received to
improve the forecasting models.
TAILOR
Environmental information must be tailored to the unique air, space, and surface
operational requirements of the joint force. Weather and space products should be
custom-built based on known, specific environmental sensitivities and effects to
operations and systems. For example, decision aids, weather effects matrices (i.e.,
stoplight charts), and target-area depictions match forecasts against mission, system,
and platform thresholds, enabling commanders to determine optimal force employment
packages in those environmental conditions. Increasingly, decision-makers will interact
with the net-centric weather data repository through machine-to-machine interfaces to
extract mission-specific information tailored to their needs. Effective tailoring therefore
requires that weather forces thoroughly understand how the weather and space
environment impacts operations.
INTEGRATE
Effective integration enables
decision-makers
to
maintain
battlespace awareness. So armed,
they
can
anticipate
the
environment’s effects on planned
operations, then mitigate or exploit
those conditions which facilitate
achievement of joint force and
functional component commanders’
objectives.
Commanders should
ensure environmental effects on
operations are fully integrated into
decision-making processes and
command and control systems.
Environmental information should be
Timeliness is critical to
tailored to unique air, space, and surface
operational requirements.
effective
integration;
therefore,
weather operations rely on robust,
assured common user communications. Moreover, environmental information is most
effective when it is incorporated into command and control systems and processes. A
net-centric repository of environmental information and operational impacts facilitates
such integration. The net-centric repository also allows individual decision-makers to
fuse relevant weather impacts with other operational information into an operational
picture tailored to their mission. For example, a pilot would only access weather
12
impacts related to their sortie, whereas a joint force commander would develop
depictions of weather impacts to theater-wide operations.
Operation IRAQI FREEDOM
25-27 March 2003
During the American-led march to Baghdad, Air
Force weather forces correctly predicted the onset of
widespread sandstorms in south-central Iraq 4-5 days in
advance. Commanders seized the moment and quickly
integrated this environmental information into their
operational planning. Scheduled missions were modified or cancelled, and new
ones were added. Air Force platforms and weapons systems vulnerable to the
expected conditions were switched out in favor of those that could overcome the
degrading effects of persistent strong winds that produced blowing sand and nearzero visibilities up to several thousand feet over the area of responsibility. B-52H
bombers equipped with satellite-guided joint direct-attack munitions were able to
continue attack operations against unsuspecting Republican Guard forces. Once
the storms subsided, temporarily disabled US ground troops were able to continue
their offensive amidst a weakened Iraqi resistance.
— Various Sources
The integration process requires continuous management. Without effective
management, communication paths can become saturated. Collection/communication
systems should be designed to deliver environmental information in near-real time.
A familiar example of weather integration for daily operations is the use of
weather forecasting and observations in maintaining flightline safety. Working closely
with operations and base safety offices, weather support is vital in preventing lightning
strikes to personnel, a serious hazard on the large open areas of the flightline.
Prevention of weather-related injury to personnel
or damage to equipment is a vital role of
integrated weather operations.
For the
warfighter, weather integration would use
weather forecasts and observations in targeting.
Accurate prediction of winds, clouds and
temperature contrasts at or near a target site
could influence the selection of approach vectors,
Weather and space
time-over-target, and other factors. Integrating
effects should be
weather impacts with intelligence information
integrated into all facets
such as air defense threats allows selection of
of operations.
the safest approaches that maximize lock-on
ranges while ensuring the best probability of
target kill.
13
CHAPTER THREE
ORGANIZING, COMMANDING, AND EMPLOYING WEATHER FORCES
In Europe bad weather was the worst enemy of the air [operations]. Some
soldier once said, "The weather is always neutral." Nothing could be more
untrue. Bad weather is obviously the enemy of the side that seeks to launch
projects requiring good weather, or of the side possessing great assets, such
as strong air forces, which depend upon good weather for effective
operations.
—General Dwight D. Eisenhower
GENERAL
The organization of Air Force weather forces is driven by its two distinctly
different yet related basic functions: describing past, current and future weather
conditions (environmental characterization) and enabling the employment of weather
and weather effects information at key decision points (environmental information
exploitation). See Figure 3.1 for a comparison of the functions. Due to the extensive
processing systems, data storage capacity, and communications capabilities required,
environmental characterization is generally accomplished centrally from fixed locations
employing a high degree of automation. The primary focus is on collection, analysis,
and prediction at the global, regional, and local scales. Through reachback and/or
distributed operations, Air Force weather forces performing this function provide
accurate and consistent actionable weather information to those weather forces
exploiting environmental information.
COMPARISON
COMPARISON OF
OF FEATURES
FEATURES
Environmental
Environmental Characterization
Characterization
Environmental
Environmental Information
Information Exploitation
Exploitation
• Centralized
• Produce actionable weather information
for weather forces
• Primarily collect, analyze, and predict
• Focused on accuracy and consistency
• Fixed, large infrastructure
• Reachback provider
• Highly automated
• Geographic focus
• Decentralized
• Produce actionable weather information
for decision-makers
• Primarily tailor and integrate
• Focused on relevance and timeliness
• Mobile, deployable
• Reachback user
• Personal and interactive
• Decision-maker focus
Figure 3.1. Comparison of the two functions of Air Force weather operations.
14
In contrast, decentralized weather forces normally support forces conducting
operations at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels. Unlike the fixed support
associated with environmental characterization, weather forces that exploit
environmental information are generally mobile and poised to deploy with supported
units. Using the central databases and derived products, these deployable weather
forces focus on tailoring and integrating actionable weather information into decision
processes at the highest levels of warfare they currently support, whether strategic,
operational, or tactical. They also ensure weather information is both timely and
relevant, enabling battlespace awareness for supported decision-makers.
ORGANIZING AND COMMANDING WEATHER FORCES
Air Force weather forces organized in units (i.e., squadrons or higher) are
normally most effective in producing accurate and consistent past, current, and future
representations of the natural environment. Those Air Force weather forces embedded
in supported operational units (e.g., a weather flight in an operations support squadron)
are most effective at integrating tailored environmental information into operational
decision-making processes.
Environmental
Information Exploitation
Environmental
Characterization
CENTRALIZED
Squadron*and
Above
Weather Field Operating Agencies, Groups,
Squadrons, Centers, and Divisions
Weather Detachments,
Flights, Operating
Locations, and
Specialty Teams
DECENTRALIZED
Below Squadron*
Organized for
optimal
efficiency and
consistency
Organized
for effective
integration
*or equivalent
Figure 3.2. Organizing Weather Forces.
Air Force weather forces are normally task-organized to forward deploy with joint
force, functional component, and Service component headquarters; air and space
operations centers (AOC); Air Force and Army conventional combat units; and Air
Force, Army, and joint special operations forces. Air Force weather forces may also
15
contribute to coalition weather operations and may be called upon to assist civil
authorities with environmental information. See Figure 3.2 for how weather forces are
organized.
Air Force weather operations continuously seek improved efficiency.
efficiencies are typically gained through:
These
› Consolidation of common functions (e.g., airfield forecasting, flight weather services,
space launch support, climate/environmental modeling, training).
› Consolidation of resources (e.g., force/equipment pools, infrastructure).
› Technology (e.g., improved machine-to-machine [M2M] capabilities, common
equipment/systems, data fusion).
EMPLOYING WEATHER FORCES
Air Force weather operations with global, regional, and local scopes
provide direct support to strategic, operational, and tactical decision-makers
through a combination of reachback and distributed operations (e.g., on-site). Air
Force weather personnel characterize the environment on global, regional, and local
scales, developing information primarily for exploitation by weather forces embedded in
operational units. Weather forces directly support decision-makers’ requests for
assistance at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels to include the national
intelligence community; joint force, functional component, and Air Force and Army
commanders and staffs; AOCs; expeditionary Air Force units; Army combat arms,
combat support, and combat service support; and Air Force and Army special
operations units.
Global weather centers collect, compile, process, and format weather and space
observations from commercial, civil, and military sources into a four-dimensional
representation of the natural environment. They generate computerized real-time
analyses, forecasts, long-range outlooks, and climatological assessments of this global
natural environment for use at the regional and local levels. Regional weather centers
then prepare higher resolution computerized analyses and forecasts, where weather
personnel with appropriate regional expertise adjust these outputs to mitigate
weaknesses in computer models and algorithms. At the local level, weather personnel
collect detailed measurements of the natural environment, which are input into the
global database and are the crucial foundation required to develop environmental
products suitable for all levels of warfare. Air Force weather operations also process
and analyze historical weather data at each level to determine normal seasonal weather
patterns, averages, probabilities and effects of specific weather elements on operations.
Due to the enormity and complexity of environmental characterization as a whole, Air
Force weather operations leverage other DOD and federal capabilities and avoid
redundancy whenever practical.
16
At the base/post level, Air Force weather operations support Air Force air and space
units; joint organizations; Army combat, combat support, and combat service support
units; and Air Force and Army special operations forces. To do so, weather forces are
normally organized as a weather flight in an operations support squadron for Air Force
operations or a weather squadron (including subordinate detachments, flights, and
operating locations) for Army operations. These weather forces generate specific
mission-execution analyses and forecasts for air, space, and surface missions by
integrating and tailoring global, regional, and local-scale environmental information with:
› Current observations (e.g., surface, solar, and ionospheric conditions, radar,
lightning strike data).
› Knowledge of friendly and enemy missions, weapons systems, tactics, and
environmental sensitivities.
› Familiarity with local terrain effects on environmental conditions.
Base/post weather forces contribute to environmental characterization by
collecting and disseminating near-real-time weather observations and other local-scale
weather data to higher-echelon weather centers. They also provide post-mission
feedback on environmental information, such as altitudes and extents of cloud decks, to
global and regional weather centers. Air Force weather personnel should be integrated
into the warfighting headquarters, AOCs, flying wing/group/squadron mission planning
cells and the Army warfighting headquarters military decision-making process (MDMP)
to enable warfighters to fully exploit weather and space environmental information.
Commanders should also include weather forces in operational exercises (such as RED
FLAG, AIR WARRIOR, COPE THUNDER, and Army Battle Command Training
Program exercises) to provide combat-related training and experience with aircrews and
land operators in simulated, yet realistic, wartime environments.
Since a single weather Airman can support several decision-makers from one
location, centralized weather units integrate weather impacts into decision processes
where feasible and adequate. This ensures limited human resources are available to
embed with operational decision-makers where most critical. For conventional forces,
direct support is normally provided down to the Air Force squadron level or the Army
brigade combat team/support brigade level. The difference in Air Force and Army
operations is mainly driven by the smaller spatial scale of Army brigade-level operations
compared to a typical Air Force flying squadron, which may encounter radically different
environmental conditions while transiting from the surface through the upper
atmosphere over a large area. In contrast, direct support to Army and Air Force special
operations forces is normally provided as needed, even to a small, forward-deployed
team. Air Force weather operations accomplish direct support through reachback
(obtaining required information from organizations that are not forward deployed) and
through distributed operations (conducting weather operations from independent or
interdependent nodes through teaming).
17
Air Force Component Level
The commander, Air Force forces (COMAFFOR)—the air and space
expeditionary task force (AETF) commander—exercises operational control (OPCON)
of all conventional Air Force weather forces deployed to a theater. Air Force
conventional weather personnel generally forward deploy with the combined/joint force
air and space component commander (C/JFACC) (if established), AETF subordinate
units, and the AOC. See Figure 3.3 for a description of how Air Force weather forces
support Air Force and Army forces.
JFC
COMAFFOR/JFACC
Air and Space
Operations
Center
Commander
(Embedded
weather forces)
Expeditionary
Air Force
Squadron
Commanders
Intermediate
Commanders
(if required)
Intermediate
Commanders
(if required)
Expeditionary
Operations
Group
Commander
Expeditionary Air
Support
Operations
Group
Commander
Expeditionary
Operations Support
Squadron
Commander
Expeditionary
Weather
Squadron
Commander
Weather Flights,
Detachments,
and/or
Operating Locations
Weather
Flight
OPCON
Army
Unit
Commanders
TACON
ADCON
if delegated
SUPPORT
Figure 3.3. Typical command relations for Air Force weather forces
supporting conventional Air Force and Army operations.
The combatant commander’s supporting Air Force component, usually a major
command (MAJCOM) or numbered Air Force (NAF) (the NAF may be superseded by
the creation of the warfighting headquarters [WFHQ]), identifies the weather capability
needed to support the AETF. In addition, the WFHQ should have weather personnel on
the WFHQ A-3 staff and in the AOC. If unable to source the necessary forces, the
component forwards requirements for sourcing via the Air and Space Expeditionary
18
Force Center (AEFC). Whenever possible, Air Force weather forces embedded in
operational units should deploy with those units.
The senior Air Force weather representative to the COMAFFOR is designated
the COMAFFOR staff weather officer (SWO) and is normally assigned to the A-3 staff.
The COMAFFOR SWO monitors Air Force weather operations in theater, including
those supporting land forces and SOF, and advises the COMAFFOR A-staff on all
matters related to organizing, equipping, training, sustaining, and employing Air Force
weather forces. The COMAFFOR SWO should coordinate support responsibilities with
the joint meteorological and oceanographic (METOC) officer (JMO), if appointed, or the
combatant commander's senior METOC officer (SMO) in accordance with Joint
Publication (JP) 3-59, Joint Doctrine, Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for
Meteorological and Oceanographic Operations. The COMAFFOR SWO should also
coordinate closely with counterparts on other joint force and component staffs, including
the chief of the weather specialty team supporting the JFACC’s staff.
Similar to the
COMAFFOR SWO, staff weather officers of other components have functional support
responsibilities and should coordinate their respective component requirements directly
with the JMO or SMO.
Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force (AETF)
AETFs are task organized to provide required capabilities to meet combatant
commander requirements. Based on expected air, space, and surface operational
requirements identified by the COMAFFOR in support of JFC objectives, the Air Force
component coordinates the task organization of the AETF and arranges for the transfer
of forces through the AEFC. Weather personnel should deploy with their supported air
expeditionary wing (AEW), group (AEG), squadron (AES), or Army combat unit as part
of an AETF. In addition, weather forces from other units, as well as Guard or Reserve
personnel, may be tasked to augment AETF weather organizations as part of AEF
rotations. Required weather functionality ranges from as few as one Airman or item of
tactical meteorological equipment (TACMET) for observations at an unimproved airfield
to as much as a contingent of 6-10 Airmen and an accompanying suite of TACMET to
conduct 24-hour observing and mission-execution forecasting operations.
Air Force weather forces supporting AEW operations are normally organized,
commanded, and employed as a weather flight in an expeditionary operations support
squadron (EOSS). As a cross-cutting organization, an EOSS provides flexibility for the
deployed weather flight to furnish environmental information to each squadron in the
AEW, as well as to AEW support units and the wing operations center. In some
instances, it may be best for weather personnel to be directly attached to an AES in
order to provide more tailored, specific environmental information in support of AES
operations.
Air Force weather forces deployed in an AETF are not self-sufficient. They
normally obtain environmental information through reachback and distributed operations
from higher-echelon weather organizations, primarily through a supporting operational
19
weather squadron (OWS). Reachback and distributed operations provide the
ability to reliably access environmental information and resources while
minimizing the theater footprint. Deployed weather forces therefore require assured
and/or common-user communications to perform their missions.
Air and Space Operations Center (AOC) Weather Operations
The Falconer AOC provides the COMAFFOR with the tools and services
required for planning and executing operations with air and space forces. Air Force
weather forces are normally organized as a weather specialty team (WST), a
horizontally cross-cutting capability integrated into the five AOC divisions (Figure 3.4).
The WST also supports other specialty teams such as the battlefield coordination
detachment and the joint personnel recovery center. The WST size and internal
structure should be inherently flexible and responsive to the changing requirements of
the operation. The senior weather officer assigned to the AOC leads the WST and
ensures team members are used effectively throughout the AOC. WST personnel
should be fully qualified at the AOC field training unit before being assigned to an AOC.
JFACC/COMAFFOR
AOC
Commander
Strategy
Division
Combat
Plans
Division
Combat
Operations
Division
ISR
Division
Air
Mobility
Division
Weather
Specialty
Team
Figure 3.4. The WST is a horizontally cross-cutting capability supporting
all AOC divisions.
The WST normally reaches back to centralized weather centers (generally a
supporting OWS) for a significant portion of environmental information needed to
support AOC operations. The WST therefore requires immediate and sustained
connectivity (both secure and nonsecure) to base networks for steady receipt of
environmental data. Air Force Operational Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures
(AFOTTP) 2-3.2, Air and Space Operations Center, contains detailed guidance on
employing Air Force weather forces in the AOC.
20
Functional
AOCs
also
employ weather operations as a
force multiplier.
In the space
AOC, weather forces are normally
embedded within the combat
operations
division’s
space
situational awareness (SSA) team.
SSA weather forces should
leverage Air Force Weather
Agency (AFWA) space weather
branch capabilities to identify
space
weather
impacts
to
terrestrial and space systems,
anomalies,
assessments
and
forecasts for all space AOC
The Space Weather Branch supports Air Force
space force employment.
operations. AFOTTP 2-3.4, Space
Air and Space Operations Center,
contains a detailed description of Air Force weather operations in the space AOC.
Weather operations in the tanker airlift control center (TACC), another functional
AOC, directly support the global air mobility mission of Air Mobility Command. TACC
weather forces provide direct mission planning/ execution products and services for the
TACC and strategic airlift and tanker crews operating worldwide. Through reachback,
TACC weather forces also support deployed elements of contingency response groups
as needed. AFOTTP 2-3.5, Global Mobility Air and Space Operations Center, contains
a detailed description of Air Force weather operations in the TACC.
Joint and Multinational Operations
Air Force weather capabilities should be integrated with those of other
Services and nations to provide coherent and structured weather operations to
joint and multinational forces. To this end, Air Force weather personnel should be
tasked to fill some joint weather positions on a JFC, JFACC, or joint force land
component commander (JFLCC) staff or within a joint/combined air and space
operations center (J/CAOC). For instance, an Air Force weather officer generally
serves as either the SMO or the JMO. In particular, for air and space- or land-centric
operations in which the Air Force or Army provides the preponderance of forces, an Air
Force field grade weather officer should be appointed as the JMO. When a joint task
force is formed, Air Force weather forces may also be tasked to form or augment a joint
METOC forecast unit (JMFU). Alternatively, an existing Air Force METOC organization,
such as an OWS, may be established as a JMFU.
Roles, responsibilities,
organizations, and principles of joint weather operations are further discussed in JP 359, Joint Doctrine, Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for Meteorological and
Oceanographic Operations.
21
Special Operations Forces (SOF)
Air Force weather forces also provide direct environmental support to the unique
worldwide missions of special operations forces. To do so, Air Force weather
operations must field technically and tactically skilled, fully mission-qualified weather
forces ready to deploy worldwide on short notice. In addition, SOF weather forces must
be capable of infiltrating the joint operations area via sea, air, and land and of operating
independently in permissive and uncertain environments and with other SOF teams in
hostile areas.
Operation EAGLE CLAW: A Hard Lesson to Learn
Top-secret planning for what would be one of the most
complicated and ambitious raids in American history, the Iranian
hostage rescue attempt of 1980, lasted well over five months
but it fell short of fully considering an incorrigible foe: the
weather.
Historical records pointed to winter as the optimal time for a mission of this type,
as limited moonlight and suitable temperatures and densities represented favorable
conditions for night RH-53D operations. Nevertheless, the mission was set for late April,
introducing additional weather challenges such as suspended dust, which proved to be
a factor in the subsequent mishap. This mission-impacting information was never
briefed to JTF planners and decision-makers….
Recommendations to use a WC-130 weather reconnaissance aircraft as a scout
in advance of the RH-53Ds were discounted based on assumed favorable weather
conditions and for security reasons. Additionally, it was determined that pilot reports
from accompanying C-130s, flying the same route, could provide advance notice of
unfavorable weather as needed. However, the C-130s ended up arriving at the
destination, Desert One, well ahead of the helicopters and were unable to relay up-tothe-minute weather data to the RH-53D crews.
Weather operations personnel were excluded from planning and rehearsal
exercises at the JTF training areas, eliminating their ability to work with the aircrews…..
Furthermore, mission execution weather briefings, developed by weather operations
personnel, were presented by J-2 intelligence officers who had little, if any, formal
weather training or experience. Aircrew feedback was provided in the same indirect way.
Pilots were thus unaware of the possibility of encountering suspended dust and were
unprepared to handle it. Integration of weather information, a vital contributor to mission
success, never occurred.
—Paul B. Ryan
The Iranian Rescue Mission: Why It Failed
The lack of weather preparations in Operation EAGLE CLAW cost the United States
military equipment, effectiveness, and, most importantly, lives.
22
If a joint special operations task force (JSOTF) is established, the joint force
special operations component commander (JFSOCC), in coordination with a designated
JFSOCC SWO, determines the correct mix of SOF weather forces required to support
JFC objectives. Normally, SOF perform best when weather forces are embedded in the
deploying SOF team. The SOF team’s weather component is tailored appropriately for
a given scenario.
SOF operate in the forward and deep battlespace, areas in which METOC data
are often sparse or denied. Embedded SOF weather forces, therefore, offer a capability
to obtain forward-area METOC observations in support of conventional and SOF
missions. Furthermore, this vital information should be quickly disseminated to
centralized weather organizations where it can be exploited to enhance the accuracy of
global and regional analyses and forecasts. SOF weather forces leverage centrally
produced environmental characterization information through a combination of
reachback and distributed operations to generate tailored environmental impact
information for specific SOF missions. SOF weather forces also train and liaise with
indigenous persons.
Conventional US Army Operations
By inter-Service agreement initiated as a result of the National Security Act of
1947, Air Force weather operations support Army air and ground combat arms, combat
support, and combat service support units. Weather and weather impact information
are integral to the MDMP, including intelligence preparation of the battlespace, and
contribute to dominant battlespace awareness, enabling the Army to achieve
information and decision superiority. Since the natural environment affects friendly as
well as hostile forces, Air Force weather operations should fully understand the
environmental sensitivities of friendly and enemy land force capabilities.
To become more relevant to combatant commanders, the Army is transforming
into a force of modular, self-contained, lethal force packages organized with capabilities
to accomplish the full range of missions, i.e., from major combat to stability operations.
To support such a force, Air Force weather operations must be flexible, responsive, and
tailorable.
Weather squadrons supporting Army operations should be habitually aligned with
designated Army combat and combat support units. When appropriate, the squadron
commander tailors a weather force to forward deploy in support of any combination of
these designated units. To do so, Air Force weather operations must field technically
and tactically skilled weather forces ready to deploy worldwide and be capable of
operating with Army forces in permissive, uncertain, and hostile operating
environments. To be consistent with JP 3-59, weather forces supporting operations
should be integrated through the G-3 (operations) and support the G-2 (intelligence)
and other decision-makers as required. The supporting weather squadron should
provide appropriate weather representation on the commander, Army forces’ G-3 staff
to assist the COMAFFOR SWO in organizing, training, equipping, sustaining, and
employing Air Force weather forces supporting Army operations.
23
Forward-deployed Air Force weather forces supporting Army operations leverage
environmental characterization information from centralized weather organizations via a
combination of reachback and distributed operations to provide tailored environmental
effects information essential to planning and executing land operations. To do so,
weather forces supporting Army operations require robust, assured common-user
communications. Air Force weather operations should be seamlessly integrated with
Army command and control systems and processes at all echelons. Machine-tomachine interfaces enhance such integration.
FIXED US AIR FORCE WEATHER OPERATIONS
Fixed, centralized weather units generally perform the environmental
characterization function of Air Force weather operations, particularly at the global and
regional scales. Deployed Air Force weather forces and personnel are best supported
by these in-place capabilities primarily via reachback and distributed operations. Other
non-deployable organizations directly support decision-makers conducting air, space,
and surface missions at the tactical, operational, or strategic levels. In some cases,
both functions of Air Force weather operations are conducted within a single agency.
Key fixed Air Force weather organizations are described below.
Air Force Weather Agency. The Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA), a field
operating agency reporting to the Director of Weather, Headquarters USAF, includes
the primary production center for Air Force weather operations. AFWA collects and
processes worldwide atmospheric and space data, develops global-scale analyses and
forecasts, runs prediction models, and produces and disseminates a variety of
environmental information. In addition, AFWA possesses a just-in-time capability to
DESERT STORM: Space Enters the Fray
Operation DESERT STORM featured an expanded use of
weather, navigation, early warning, and surveillance satellites,
compelling warfighters to consider the space environment’s
impacts on their operations. DESERT STORM not only occurred
during the height of the third largest solar maximum on record,
but it was also conducted in an overall significantly hostile natural
environment.
During the 41-day war, 81 major solar flares
occurred.
These flares degraded performance of communication systems for minutes to
hours and impacted other satellite systems as well. In addition to sporadic disturbances
like solar flares, the daily variation in the ionosphere over equatorial regions created
scintillation problems on Southwest Asian satellite and UHF communications during the
evening hours. Commanders should be aware of space environmental effects on potential
operations during planning and COA development.
—Various Sources
24
focus technical expertise and computer-intensive forecast models on particular theaters
of interest to meet operational requirements. AFWA also submits requirements for onboard sensor tasking of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program satellites in support
of specific DOD and national-level operations.
AFWA monitors solar activity (such as sunspots, solar flares, or coronal mass
ejections) and solar wind characteristics (such as energetic particles, shock waves, or
magnetic fields) at numerous surveillance sites around the globe and from space.
AFWA’s space weather branch, the sole DOD organization providing mission-tailored
analyses and forecasts of system-impacting space weather, uses these data to
generate worldwide warnings of operationally significant space environmental activity.
AFWA’s intelligence community (IC) weather branch provides planning and
execution space and terrestrial weather analyses, forecasts, climate assessments, and
mission-tailored decision aids at the highest levels of security for multibillion dollar IC
operations, including those of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), National
Security Agency (NSA), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), National GeospatialIntelligence Agency (NGA), and other IC agencies.
AFWA’s special operations support branch supports worldwide SOF operations,
even down to the individual team level, through secure reachback. The branch also
provides tailored meteorological information for end-to-end planning at US Special
Operations Command (USSOCOM), Service component special operations commands,
and theater special operations commands.
AFWA’s meteorological satellite (METSAT) applications branch produces rapid
response, tailored METSAT imagery and evaluation for DOD contingency operations
and generates automated METSAT imagery products for web-based distribution to
DOD users. The branch is also the DOD focal point for global volcanic ash event
monitoring, advisories, and trajectory forecasts.
Air Force Combat Climatology
Center (AFCCC). Climatological data,
the typical weather conditions for a given
location or region, provide valuable firstlook environmental information for
decision making such as course of action
selection (should the offensive begin
before winter?) and logistics planning (are
heaters or air conditioners needed? Snow
removal equipment or bulldozers?). To
meet this need, AFCCC processes and
analyzes historical weather data to
determine normal seasonal patterns,
averages and probabilities for the entire
world. AFCCC can also provide tailored
Climatological data from AFCCC can
greatly assist air and space power
decision makers and planners.
25
operational climatologies for various mission profiles based on specific weather threshold
sensitivities.
AFCCC plays a key role as the modeling and simulation (M&S) executive agent
for the air and space natural environment, injecting weather into DOD, joint, and Service
war games and simulations.
AFCCC can also create modeled climatological
information for data-sparse regions, offering an initial estimate of expected conditions in
an area where actual historical information is unavailable.
Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). The JTWC, comprised of Air Force
weather and Navy METOC personnel, provides tropical cyclone forecasts and warnings
for DOD, Department of State, and other US government assets in the Pacific and
Indian Oceans.
Operational Weather Squadrons (OWS). The OWS is the Air Force’s primary
regionally focused weather unit. Whether in peace or at war, OWS provide multiplescale environmental information and serve as centers of regional weather expertise in
support of a combatant commander’s air, space, and surface operations. OWS develop
analyses, forecasts, and weather effects information for command and control activities
as well as deployed weather forces. Products include but are not limited to theater-wide
weather; drop zone/range/air refueling forecasts/flight managed mission support; finescale target forecasts; airfield forecasts; and watches, warnings, and advisories for fixed
or deployed Air Force and Army locations within their assigned areas. An OWS is also
a source of dedicated environmental information for command and control processes at
AOCs. When warfighting units do not have assigned weather forces, the supporting
OWS should fulfill this role as capabilities permit.
During joint operations, a combatant commander, through the SMO or JMO, may
designate an OWS as the JMFU in accordance with JP 3-59. When established as the
JMFU, an OWS is responsible for the joint operational area forecast (JOAF), the official
planning forecast for all components of the joint force. In addition, as a JMFU the OWS
monitors the effectiveness of the theater collection plan in meeting the needs of the
overall operation. For extended operations, an OWS designated as the JMFU normally
requires augmentation.
Staff Meteorologists (StaffMets). Advanced-degree research, acquisition, and
test meteorologists support Air Force Materiel Command at various locations. These
StaffMets perform or support basic research as well as the development, acquisition,
and testing of Air Force weapons, weapons systems, and other capabilities by
identifying, documenting, and resolving environmental sensitivity issues and weather
information requirements. StaffMets interface with program managers to identify critical
weapons system weather sensitivities/thresholds. A key source of such data for
automated decision aids as well as weather forces exploiting environmental information,
StaffMets are also employed within the intelligence and space communities to perform
similar technical consultation services for weather-sensitive systems under development
or conducting operations.
26
CHAPTER FOUR
TRAINING AND EDUCATION
We can’t change the weather, but we
can change our operations to conform to
the weather.
—General Henry H.
“Hap” Arnold
GENERAL
Successful air, space, and surface operations rely in part on the effective training
and education of all Airmen and Soldiers on the potential impacts of the natural
environment to friendly and enemy capabilities across the range of military operations.
Decision-makers should further understand the capabilities and limitations of weather
operations and be trained to exploit weather information at every decision point
throughout the planning, execution, assessment, and sustainment of military operations.
To meet this objective, Air Force weather personnel should fully understand the natural
environment, apply that knowledge to ascertain potential environmental effects on
military operations, and integrate that assessment into decision processes anywhere,
anytime. Consequently, Air Force weather operations employ Airmen educated in
the sciences of meteorology and space physics, trained to couple this science
with the art of warfare, and capable of operating in permissive, uncertain, and
hostile environments.
Non-weather Personnel
All Airmen should understand that weather can adversely impact friendly and
enemy operations, and that it may do so asymmetrically, possibly offering friendly forces
an exploitable advantage. Accordingly, knowledge of weather conditions and the
potential impacts on weapons systems, tactics, timelines, and other parameters is
necessary for effective decision-making. Weather information, exploited at every
decision point during the planning, execution, assessment, and sustainment of military
operations at every level of war, is a key enabler of air and space power functions.
Non-weather personnel, particularly commanders, staffs, mission planners,
logisticians, and other decision-makers should be aware of and, where appropriate,
trained on how to not only identify the impacts of weather on air, space, and surface
operations, but also how to use weather information to their strategic, operational, or
tactical advantage. This training should be provided in a variety of Service and joint
venues, to include commander’s preparatory courses, weapons school classes, AOC
courses, exercises, wargames, seminars, and simulations.
27
Every Airman should participate in challenging training fora, including exercises
and war games, in which realistic environmental conditions impact the mission capability
of friendly and enemy forces. Moreover, these fora should reward decision- makers for
smartly exploiting weather information while penalizing those who neglect to consider
weather impacts. To achieve these objectives, Air Force weather forces should
maintain a robust environmental modeling and simulation capability that can be easily
integrated into exercises, war games, and other appropriate venues.
Weather Personnel
Formal education and training encompassing weather and space physics,
operational art, and field skills are continuing processes throughout an individual’s
career, progressing through the basic, intermediate, and advanced levels. Although all
Air Force weather personnel possess a blend of these capabilities, the education and
training emphasis on a given skill set is highly mission dependent. Nominal examples
are depicted in Figure 4.1.
AOC WST
Science of
Meteorology and
Space Physics
SOWT
Science of
Meteorology and
Space Physics
Art of War
Art of War
Field Skills
Field Skills
Figure 4.1. Nominal required skill sets for personnel assigned to an AOC weather
specialty team (AOC WST) or a special operations weather team (SOWT). The
size of the circle is proportional to the emphasis on the identified skill.
Weather personnel should receive technical education and training through a
blend of classroom, laboratory, and on-the-job training, built on the foundation of a
formalized initial skills course and solidified via upgrade/duty qualification training.
Additionally, commanders and functional managers should ensure weather personnel
receive tailored continuation and advanced technical training necessary to perform
specific individual duties at the unit level.
In addition to maintaining great depth in understanding scientific parameters and
technical processes, Air Force weather personnel should also know how the
environment and environmental information contribute to the success of military
operations. Continuous education and training on the art of war, air and space power,
joint force employment, and the exploitation of weather information for operational
28
purposes ensure Air Force weather forces understand how properly integrated weather
information can act as a force multiplier for decision-makers. Developmental education,
coupled with developmental and joint assignments, contribute to this broader knowledge
of air, space, and surface operations.
All Air Force personnel should meet and maintain minimum Air Force personal
readiness standards, such as weapons proficiency, in order to operate in bare-base
locations anywhere in the world. In addition, Air Force weather personnel are often
employed with SOF and conventional Army forces in uncertain and hostile
environments well outside the airbase perimeter. These Battlefield Airmen should
therefore be further trained individually and collectively to shoot, move, and
communicate in the modern battlespace. Weather forces that deploy with special
operations forces should also maintain a capability to infiltrate the area of operations via
air, land, or sea.
In addition to classroom, laboratory, computer/web-based, and on-the-job
training, Air Force weather forces should regularly participate in realistic Service and
joint exercises, war games, and other venues to achieve and maintain proficiency and
readiness. Realistic exercises identify possible shortfalls and help determine corrective
actions necessary to achieve success in future operations. Exercises should focus on
the skills and tools needed by individuals and units conducting weather operations and
can help ensure staffs are able to plan, control, and support these operations.
Furthermore, several resources exist to educate the Airman in weather operations.
Tactics, techniques, and procedures are increasingly emphasizing weather in tactical
operations and are an excellent resource for the warfighter.
At the very heart of warfare lies doctrine…
29
Suggested Readings
Air Force Publications (Note: All Air Force doctrine documents are available on the
Air Force Doctrine Center web page at https://www.doctrine.af.mil)
AFDD 1, Air Force Basic Doctrine
AFDD 2, Organization and Employment
AFDD 2-1, Air Warfare
AFDD 2-2, Space Operations
AFDD 2-4, Combat Support
AFDD 2-6, Air Mobility Operations
AFDD 2-7, Special Operations
AFDD 2-8, Command and Control
AFDD 2-9, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Operations
Air Force Policy Directive 15-1, Atmospheric and Space Environmental Support
Air Force Instruction 15-128, Air and Space Weather Operations – Roles and
Responsibilities
Air Force Manual (AFMAN) 15-129, Air and Space Weather Operations – Processes
and Procedures
Air Force Space Command Pamphlet 15-2, Space Environmental Impacts on DOD
Operations
Air Force Weather Strategic Plan and Vision FY2008-2032, January 2004
Air Force Operational Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (AFOTTP) 2-3.2, Air and
Space Operations Center
Air Force Operational Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (AFOTTP) 2-3.4, Space Air
and Space Operations Center
Air Force Operational Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (AFOTTP) 2-3.5, Global
Mobility Air and Space Operations Center
Air Force Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (AFTTP) 3-1 series
Joint Publications (JPs)
JP 0-2, Unified Action Armed Forces
30
JP 1-02, Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms
JP 3-30, Command and Control for Joint Air Operations
JP 3-59, Joint Doctrine, Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for Meteorological and
Oceanographic Operations
Joint METOC Handbook
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Instruction 3810.01B, Meteorological and
Oceanographic Operations
Other Service Publications
Joint Army Regulation 115-10/Air Force Joint Instruction 15-157, Weather Support for
the US Army
Field Manual 34-81/AFMAN 105-4, Weather Support for Army Tactical Operations
Allied Joint Pub 3.11, Allied Doctrine for METOC Support to Joint Forces
Other Publications
Arnold, H.H., Global Mission. Harper & Brothers, 1949.
Bates, Charles C. and Fuller, John F., America’s Weather Warriors: 1814-1985, Texas
A&M University Press, 1986.
Brown, Harvey E., The Medical Department of the United States Army from 1775 to
1875. Washington Surgeon General’s Office, 1973.
Eisenhower, Dwight D., Crusade in Europe. Doubleday & Co., 1948.
Fuller, John F., Weather and War. Office of MAC History, 1974.
Fuller, John F., Thor’s Legions: Weather Support to the US Air Force and Army, 19371987. American Meteorological Society Historical Monograph, 1990.
Lanicci, John M., “Integrating Weather Exploitation into Airpower and Space Power
Doctrine”, Airpower Journal 12, No. 2 (Summer 1998), 52-63.
Lanicci, John M., “Weather Operations in the Transformation Era”, Air War College
Maxwell Paper No. 29, Air University Press, March 2003.
Winters, Harold A., Battling the Elements: Weather and Terrain in the Conduct of War,
Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998.
31
GLOSSARY
Abbreviations and Acronyms
ACC
AEFC
AES
AETF
AEW
AFCCC
AFDC
AFDD
AMC
AFWA
AOC
AOR
Air Combat Command
Air and Space Expeditionary Force Center
air expeditionary squadron
air and space expeditionary task force
air expeditionary wing
Air Force Combat Climatology Center
Air Force Doctrine Center
Air Force doctrine document
Air Mobility Command
Air Force Weather Agency
air and space operations center
area of responsibility
CJTF
COA
COD
COMAFFOR
CSAR
commander, joint task force
course of action
combat operations division
commander, Air Force forces
combat search and rescue
DIRMOBFOR-AIR
director of air mobility forces
EOSS
expeditionary operations support squadron
GPS
global positioning system
ISR
intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
JFACC
JFC
JFLCC
JFSOCC
JMFU
JOAF
JTF
JMO
joint force air and space component commander
joint force commander
joint force land component commander
joint force special operations component commander
joint meteorological and oceanographic forecast unit
joint operational area forecast
joint task force
Joint METOC Officer
METOC
METSAT
meteorological and oceanographic
meteorological satellite
NAF
numbered Air Force
OWS
operational weather squadron
32
PBA
PIREPS
predictive battlespace awareness
pilot reports
SA
SATCOM
SMO
SOF
SOWT
SWO
situational awareness
satellite communications
senior meteorological and oceanographic officer
special operations forces
special operation weather team
staff weather officer
TACC
TACS
TACMET
TET
TST
tanker airlift control center
theater air control system
tactical meteorological equipment
targeting and effects translation
time-sensitive target
UHF
US
ultra high frequency
United States
WST
weather specialty team
Definitions
air and space expeditionary task force. A deployed numbered Air Force (NAF) or
command echelon immediately subordinate to a NAF provided as the US Air Force
component command committed to a joint operation. Also called AETF. (JP 1-02) [The
organizational manifestation of Air Force forces afield. The AETF provides a joint force
commander with a task-organized, integrated package with the appropriate balance of
force, sustainment, control, and force protection.] (AFDD 1) {Italicized words in brackets
apply only to the Air Force and are offered for clarity.}
air and space power. The synergistic application of air, space, and information
systems to project global strategic military power. (AFDD 1)
Battlefield Airmen (BA). BA directly assist, control, enable, and/or execute operational
air and space power functions in the forward battlespace independent of an established
airbase or its perimeter defenses. Comprising several Air Force Specialties, BA
primarily operate as surface combatants removed from traditional airbase support,
logistics, and sortie generation efforts. (AFPD 10-35)
battlespace awareness. The environment, factors, and conditions that must be
understood to successfully apply combat power, protect the force, or complete the
mission. This includes air, land, sea, space, and the included enemy and friendly
forces; facilities; weather; terrain; the electronic spectrum; and the information
environment within the operational areas and areas of interest. (JP 1-02).
33
direct support. A mission requiring a force to support another specific force and
authorizing it to answer directly to the supported force’s request for assistance. (JP 102).
distributed operations. The process of conducting operations from independent
or interdependent nodes in a teaming manner. Some operational planning or
decision-making may occur from outside the joint area of operations. The goal of
a distributed operation is to support the operational commander in the field; it is
not a method of command from the rear. (AFDD 2-8).
global positioning system. A satellite constellation that provides highly accurate
position, velocity, and time navigation information to users. Also called GPS. (JP 1-02)
intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Integrated capabilities to collect,
process, exploit and disseminate accurate and timely information that provides the
battlespace awareness necessary to successfully plan and conduct operations. (AFDD
2-5.2)
joint. Connotes activities, operations, organizations, etc., in which elements of two or
more military departments participate. (JP 1–02)
joint force air component commander. The commander within a unified command,
subordinate unified command, or joint task force responsible to the establishing
commander for making recommendations on the proper employment of assigned,
attached, and/or made available for tasking air forces; planning and coordinating air
operations; or accomplishing such operational missions as may be assigned. The joint
force air component commander is given the authority necessary to accomplish
missions and tasks assigned by the establishing commander. Also called JFACC. (JP
1-02) [The joint force air and space component commander uses the joint air and space
operations center to command and control the integrated air and space effort to meet
joint force commander’s objectives. The Air Force position is that air power and space
power together create effects that cannot be achieved through air or space power
alone.] (AFDD 2) {Italicized words in brackets apply only to the Air Force and are
offered for clarity.}
joint force commander. A general term applied to a combatant commander, subunified
commander, or joint task force commander authorized to exercise combatant command
(command authority) or operational control over a joint force. Also called JFC. (JP 1–02)
joint force special operations component commander. The commander within a
unified command, subordinate unified command, or joint task force responsible to the
establishing commander for making recommendations on the proper employment of
assigned, attached, and/or made available for tasking special operations forces and
assets; planning and coordinating special operations; or accomplishing such operational
missions as may be assigned. The joint force special operations component
34
commander is given the authority necessary to accomplish missions and tasks assigned
by the establishing commander. Also called JFSOCC. (JP 1-02)
operational level of war. The level of war at which campaigns and major operations
are planned, conducted, and sustained to accomplish strategic objectives within
theaters or other operational areas. Activities at this level link tactics and strategy by
establishing operational objectives needed to accomplish the strategic objectives,
sequencing events to achieve the operational objectives, initiating actions, and applying
resources to bring about and sustain these events. These activities imply a broader
dimension of time or space than do tactics; they ensure the logistic and administrative
support of tactical forces, and provide the means by which tactical successes are
exploited to achieve strategic objectives. See also strategic level of war; tactical level
of war. (JP 1-02)
reachback. The process of obtaining products, services, and applications, or forces, or
equipment, or material from organizations that are not forward deployed. (JP 1-02)
strategic level of war. The level of war at which a nation, often as a member of a
group of nations, determines national or multinational (alliance or coalition) security
objectives and guidance, and develops and uses national resources to accomplish
these objectives. Activities at this level establish national and multinational military
objectives; sequence initiatives; define limits and assess risks for the use of military and
other instruments of national power; develop global plans or theater war plans to
achieve these objectives; and provide military forces and other capabilities in
accordance with strategic plans. See also operational level of war; tactical level of
war. (JP 1-02)
special operations forces. Those active and Reserve component forces of the military
Services designated by the Secretary of Defense and specifically organized, trained,
and equipped to conduct and support special operations. Also called SOF. (JP 1-02)
special operations weather team. A task-organized team of Air Force personnel
organized, trained, and equipped to collect critical weather observations from datasparse areas. These teams are trained to operate independently in permissive or
uncertain environments, or as augmentation to other special operations elements in
hostile environments, in direct support of special operations. Also called SOWT. (AFDD
2-9.1)
tactical level of war. The level of war at which battles and engagements are planned
and executed to accomplish military objectives assigned to tactical units or task forces.
Activities at this level focus on the ordered arrangement and maneuver of combat
elements in relation to each other and to the enemy to achieve combat objectives. See
also operational level of war; strategic level of war. (JP 1-02)
35